Trapped In Yourself
by AwesomePossum123
Summary: Rose and the Doctor receive a mysterious invitation, but suddenly, all reality falls apart. Can Rose and the Doctor save each other from themselves?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Doctor Who or any of its characters.

"Um, Doctor?" Rose asked, holding something behind her back.

"Yep?"

"When we were leaving Cardiff just then, some bloke came up to me and handed me this letter," Rose held out a light purple envelope, with strange writing on the back.

"But this is..." He took the envelope and stroked the symbols on the back, "Gallifreyan, who could have sent me this?" He opened it carefully, pulling out a piece of paper that was folded neatly. Rose read it over his shoulder.

"Terunia, 4370, The Castle." Rose read aloud. Is Terunia a planet?"

"Yes, very close to Earth actually, and the inhabitants and quite friendly, but why, and more importantly how did they get this letter to us?" He grinned at Rose, "Only one way to find out!" He pulled the lever and the TARDIS whooshed.

"This is probably a trap you know," Rose said as he walked toward the door.

"Rose, this is a formal invitation, we have to be polite!"

They exited the TARDIS to find a large room. It had shiny wooden floors, a door in one corner, and an unlit fireplace in the middle of one wall. Other than that it was completely empty, ceiling, walls and all.

"Is this the castle?" Rose asked.

"I believe it is, and if my history is correct, because we're in the year 4370, it's still being furnished. They haven't even done the basic plumbing or wiring yet, that electric fire place won't work." The Doctor led her through the door and into a completely barren hallway. There were four doors leading to different rooms, including the one they were just in. But strangely enough, no door led out of the building itself.

Suddenly, Rose heard a familiar voice, "ROSE!" It was the Doctor, no doubt about it, but she looked over at him, and he acted like he hadn't heard or seen anything. "ROSE! IT'S FAKE! LOOK CLOSE!" His voice got muffled after that.

"What are you talking about?" She asked him, thoroughly confused.

"Huh? I didn't say anything Rose," He replied.

Something was wrong. She looked around the hall and remembered what she heard him say, 'Look close.'

"Wait a minute, Doctor," She walked into the room with the TARDIS in it, "This room is empty." He nodded at her, waiting for her to get to the point, "And the fireplace isn't lit, there aren't any lights, so how come I can see?..."

And with that sentence, the world collapsed. First, the Doctor disappeared, then the TARDIS was gone, the fireplace was gone, and even the floors and a walls melted away. Rose screamed in confusion, and woke up strapped in a chair, the Doctor across the room in the same situation, with a gag in his mouth.

"What?! Where are we?! Doctor?!" She shouted, struggling with her tight rope bonds and her eyes darting frantically around. It was a very dark room, there was a light above her head and one above the Doctor's, and whirring machinery to her left. She couldn't see the door, if there was one.

A tall, thin man with long blonde hair pulled the gag from the Doctor's mouth.

"Stop doing this to her!" The Doctor shouted at the man, "You'll drive her insane eventually. Rose, Rose don't worry you're safe, focus on me, focus on my voice alright? Try and remember how we got here, okay?"

Rose was still breathing heavily, "Oh my god... We... We got a letter and we got trapped here and... They have these machines Doctor..."

"Good, keep remembering! Focus, you can do it!"

"The machines... They design a reality and throw you into it, make you believe it, and they started with me... How did I not notice? That wasn't really you in there..." Rose started crying, even though he could tell she was trying really hard not to.

"Don't cry Rose I'll get us out, okay?" He promised, and then turned his eyes to the man. "What is it you want? Tell me _NOW._"

"We just want to learn about you, Doctor. I'm paid generously for everything I learn." The man had a deep, gruff voice with no mercy in it.

"Then why don't you just ask me questions?! And paid by who?"

"We need to learn about your reactions, we already know everything that could be answered with a question, well, except..." His voice trailed off noticing that he had gone too far.

"Paid. By. Who?"

The man smiled and walked over to his machinery, "You can call me Samuel, by the way."

"Doctor, what's he going to do?" Rose asked, still trying to stay strong for him.

"Just stay calm and remember to pay attention! You won't know it's a fake reality when you're in it."

"But... Last time I heard you," She said.

Samuel spoke up, "That was because your friend over there found a way to throw out his little gag, won't happen again, don't you worry."

"Shut up and let us go already," She said.

"I will, but first we need to see how the Time-Lord will react to a situation like..." Samuel pushed a few buttons, "This."

The Doctor started thrashing about in his chair, trying to resist the machine that was taking him. "Rose.." He said to her, his eyes starting to shut against his will. Samuel put a gag in Rose's mouth to prevent her from shouting at him.

The Doctor opened his eyes again, only it was obvious that he didn't see the room they were actually in, but another reality. His eyes narrowed like he was looking at something, trying to understand it, but then he started screaming and kicking. "NO! STOP NO! Im so sorry! That's not true no it's impossible! STOP IT!" Rose had never seen him in this state. His eyes were full of pure fear and uncontrollable tears were streaming down his face. She fought with the gag in her mouth but it was no use. She saw Samuel calmly writing things down on his clipboard. After a minute of the torture, he pulled a lever and the Doctor came back to reality slowly.

"Oh... Oh what happened... Where am I?"


	2. Chapter 2

Don't forget to review if you enjoy this story :3 Also be sure to check out some other stories of mine! Thanks!

* * *

Rose disappeared, Samuel disappeared, and then his bonds and room disappeared. He instantly forgot about where he was a minute ago. He was in a grassy field, with no roads or buildings in sight. There was a large bag in front of him with a note on it. He narrowed his eyes and looked closer. The note was written on a regular piece of paper... In blood. He grabbed the note, and without reading it, zipped open the tan bag. Inside was a face covered in blood and scars, a face he recognized all too well. Rose Tyler was dead.

_Doctor,_

_How could you? I loved you._

_Rose_

The note fell from the Doctor's hand as the fear and guilt struck him. Two feelings he knew too well.

"NO! STOP NO! That's not true no it's impossible! STOP IT!" He fell on his knees, clutching Rose's cold lifeless body. He cried harder than he ever had before, and an uncontrollable scream escaped his lips as the fake world fell apart, bringing him back to the room. "Oh... Oh what happened... Where am I?" He asked, shaking his head.

Samuel pulled the gag from Rose's mouth and wrote more things down on his clipboard. "Doctor it's okay, listen to me."

"Rose... Oh Rose you were... Rassilon, Rose.. And-"

"It's alright. Release us NOW Samuel!" She commanded.

"Very interesting reaction, Doctor," Samuel said. "Dropping on your knees and bawling, the great Oncoming Storm."

The Doctor looked like he would tear Samuel's head off with his bare hands if he was released. "Rose, whatever happens, stay calm okay? Whatever he does to me..."

"What a brave little hero you are, Doctor," Samuel smiled, turning around, "But my next trick is for her."

"Leave her alone, Samuel, or I personally guarentee you will regret this."

"I'm terrified, but you know what? Just for you, Time-Lord, I'll set a little show up."

Confused, Rose and the Doctor both looked over at one of the bare walls to see a screen being lowered down.

"Is that a projection screen? It looks like it could be in a third grade classroom," The Doctor gave a stale smirk.

Samuel looked offended, "It'll just help you enjoy the show."

"What are you talking about?" Rose asked.

Samuel gave her an evil grin as he pushed some buttons and pulled some levers on his machine. Rose started fighting the bonds as Samuel put a gag in the Doctor's mouth and she was sucked away from reality.

As soon as Rose's eyes shut, the screen lit up. The Doctor instantly realized what was happening. He was going to watch the universe that Samuel had put her into, and he wouldn't be able to do a thing to help her.

* * *

Rose blinked, and realized she was standing inside the TARDIS, in her bedroom. She smiled and walked towards the console room, to find the Doctor. He was tinkering away as usual, and when he saw her he stopped and looked up. But something was wrong, he didnt have his usual 'let's-go-to-Barcelona' smile on, but instead a deep frown.

"Rose, I need to talk to you," He said, his face serious, guiding her to a sitting room in the TARDIS.

"What's wrong?" She asked, worried and innocent.

"I'm going to take you home."

"But... Why?" She asked, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I've had a lot of companions, but you have been the most useless by far," He stated, not a hint of pity in his eyes. Deep down she knew something was wrong immediately.

"Wha... What?..." Rose asked with disbelief.

_The real Doctor looked away from the screen and at Samuel, his mouth and arms fighting their restraints, and his eyes desperate and pleading._

"I'll be perfectly honest Rose," The Doctor said, examining his own fingernails. "You're kind of a nuisance. You never listen to me, you always get trapped, and your constant advances onto me are getting out of hand. I'm not interested in you at all. Can't you see?"

Rose stared at the Time-Lord with absolute disbelief, tears streaming down her face, her heart broken. She thought of all her fond memories of him. Hugging him, holding his hand, and running with him. "But... We... You... You don't like me?" She managed to ask, her mascara-scarred tears falling onto her lap.

The Doctor shook his head, still uninterested. She ran out of the room and out of the TARDIS, into London. The second she was off the ship it disappeared along with her love. She sat on the ground and cried for ten minutes uncontrollably. He couldn't have mesnt that. Her Doctor, who loved her. Something was so wrong, an alien must've been possessing him, or he was being threatened. But... The TARDIS was gone. The one thing he would never, ever do, is leave her broken like this. He was serious. Her heart broken, she got up from the ground and walked in the middle of a bust street. She stared down a car that was going way too fast to slow down, and it hit her.

* * *

She slipped back into reality, still crying, and struggled to remember what was happening. "Rose, Rose, my poor Rose, none of that was true, none at all! I would never say that, never!" The Doctor exclaimed as soon as his mouth was free.

"But... You... I died... I felt death," She said, staring into his eyes, "Doctor, in that reality, your eyes were different. How could I have not noticed your eyes were different? They looked... Evil," She started crying again.

"Are you done yet?" He asked Samuel, his voice as cold as a glacier.

"Not yet... I have a list here of all the information my employers would like."

"Who are your employers?!" The Doctor shouted.

"I could tell you, but you wouldn't understand. I'd show you, but you wouldn't exactly... Remember." Samuel said, trying to find the right word.

"Try me," The Doctor commanded.

"Ha, you wish. It's the girl's turn for a show now," He said pressing more buttons.

"Rose, whatever you see or hear me say, you have to remember, it's all fake, and I'm okay, alright?"

Rose nodded weakly, "Please, don't... I can't watch."

"You can close your eyes if you need to," The Doctor said.

"Bye-bye," Samuel said. The Doctor clutched the chair with a steel grip, trying to stay. But it was no use.

* * *

The Doctor opened his eyes to see a sight he had dreamed of for so long. He was on top of a yellow mountain, a tree with silver leaves to his left. In the distance he could see a familiar citadel, surrounded by a clear force-field. He saw the beautiful orange sky and knew. He was on Gallifrey, he was home, and it felt _so_ right. He smiled brighter than he had in such a long time. Real, pure, complete and utter bliss. He had grown up here, he belonged here, more than anywhere else. His people... His beautiful, intelligent people, were alive. Nothing could have made this moment better. A tear of joy fell down the Time-Lord's cheek. _Home. _He knew what the word meant now.

He took a silver leaf from the tree next to him, felt its texture against his skin. This was definitely real. The leaf blew away towards the citadel, when he heard something.

**"Exterminate!"**


	3. Chapter 3

"No... They need to leave. THEY NEED TO LEAVE!" He screamed at the thousands of Dales that approached the citadel, destroying its force field. The Doctod collapsed on the ground and curled up in a ball. He looked up through his tears to see that several Time-Lords were approaching him. "Rassilon?"

"Doctor, only you can stop this war," Rassilon, The Lord-President of Gallifrey spoke.

"No... I can't," He cried, "Don't make me..."

"Do it on behalf of your people, Time-Lord," Rassilon said, picking up the Doctor.

The fake reality fast forwarded to the Doctor making a decision. He was standing in a white room, a Dalek on his left and a Time-Lord friend on his right.

"Doctor, if you do this, both races will die."

The Doctor looked back and forth, at his friend and his enemy. He felt such indecision. He had a small hope that there was a way his species could survive, but deep down he knew it was impossible. It all came down to this moment. He stared at the small red button in his hand. He shook all over, sobbing and wondering. But he looked up into the eye stalk of the Dalek and saw only hatred. Hatred that shouldn't be in this brilliant, wonderful universe. And he pushed the button.

* * *

Rose kept her eyes closed as tight as she could, but she couldn't block out the noise. The noise of the Doctor's cries, his screams, his pure fear. She saw it finally end, and he came back to reality.

"Oh... Oh Rose..."

Samuel pulled Rose's gag out. "Doctor it's okay listen to me," She said, crying at his fear. Her Doctor never got scared, he was always overconfident and silly.

"I killed them, Rose, I killed them all."

"No, it was just a vision."

"No... It was real. I kill everyone I touch."

"ARE YOU HAPPY?!" She screamed at Samuel, who looked shocked. "CAN'T YOU SEE WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO HIM? THIS MAN HAS SAVED YOUR WORTHLESS LIFE HUNDREDS OF TIMES AND THIS IS HOW YOU THANK HIM?"

Samuel's jaw dropped, "I... Uh..."

"Let. Us. Go."

"My employers will kill me if I do that!"

"Who are they?"

"The Silence..." Samuel said quietly.

"Please... Don't make me go back to Gallifrey... Please..." The Doctor sobbed.

"You'll be okay, he won't take you back there," Rose assured him.

"There are four more tests I need to run..." Samuel said.

"Do them on me, don't touch the Doctor again."

"Don't worry, they're good."

"Good?"

Samuel regained his evil grin and pulled a lever, throwing Rose away from this reality.

* * *

Rose blinked to find herself in a nice house. She was on a yellow carpet, in a foyer, with a lovely shandelier above her head and stairs to her right. She heard a voice from upstairs, "Rose! Come here, look!" When she was up the stairs, she walked into her husband's room to find him lying on his bed, holding his phone. "Look at this photo!" The Doctor said, showing her a picture of a golden retriever puppy. "Can we please get a dog? Pleaseee?"

Rose laughed, "I didn't think when you decided to move in with me in a normal house you would want to do domestic stuff."

"But I've never had a dog before! Apart from K9, of course."

Rose smiled at her husband. She loved him so much, and he was all hers. They had been together for about a year now. "Fine, we can get a dog!" She surrendered, kissing him on the nose.

When she backed away he kissed her on her lips fast and smiled. She leaned in for more but he jumped off the bed and exclaimed, "Gotta catch me!"

She chased him around the house happily and caught him in the foyer, throwing him against the wall and kissing him.

"You can't do this to her, this is evil. ROSE! WAKE UP!" She heard a voice.

"What's wrong honey?" Her husband asked, kissing her shoulder lightly.

She shook her head, "Nothing."

* * *

Rose heard a sudden muffled screaming and woke up from her fake universe. "...Huh?"

She saw Samuel and the Doctor fighting. The Time-Lord had somehow managed to free one wrist. Samuel calmly walked over to a box on his machine and pulled out a knife. But instead of walking over to the Doctor, he approached Rose and put the knife to her throat. The Doctor had managed to get out his sonic screwdriver, and was about to release himself when he saw Samuel.

"Put that back and stay calm or she gets it."

"Doctor..." Rose said, eyeing her own arms and hinting him on.

He began to put the screwdriver back, and Samuel lowered his knife a bit. But, suddenly, the Time-Lord whipped his screwdriver back out and freed Rose's arms and legs. Rose kicked the man's hand with the knife in it and it flew out of his hand. The Doctor freed himself kicked Samuel where it hurts. The two companions instantly started searching for an exit, but it was hard to see in the eerie lighting. Rose shouted, "Here!" And started struggling with a black door. He opened it with his screwdriver and they ran out, desperate to find the TARDIS, knowing Samuel would be after them momentarily.

They ran through the streets of an unknown city, and could see the TARDIS in the distance. Suddenly, the Doctor collapsed, shutting his eyes tight. Rose kneeled down to examine him.

The Time-Lord opened his eyes again, but it was obvious he was not with her. "Dad?" He said, looking shocked at nothing.

"Oh no..." Rose muttered, trying to carry him into the TARDIS.

"Dad!" The Doctor got up, hugging Rose tight. "I didn't think you'd be home..."

"Doctor," Rose said to him, trying to snap him back into reality. His face was so full of joy that Rose didn't have the heart to stop the reality.

"Dad..."


	4. Chapter 4

"Doctor... You should wake up..."

"Dad..." He smiled brighter than she had ever seen him before. His eyes sparkled without a trace of the guilt or evil that was usually there. "I love you so much... Don't go again, please."

She couldn't be sure of what he was seeing exactly, but she could imagine his father had said something kind in reply. His face lit up again, smiling big at nothing. "Doctor... Hey it's me..." She whispered, realizing she was now crying herself.

"Did you hear that?" His face turned sad for a second, then he turned back to bliss. "Yes. But... You promise you won't go? Swear?" He looked like a little boy. He _was_ a little boy at that moment. "Okay. Let's go!"

"Doctor... Please..."

"How old is this tree?" He asked his father curiously, reaching out his hand as if touching something. "Who are they?" He pointed to Rose's left. "Dad? Who are they?" His face turned, back to the usual hidden anger Rose saw in them. He looked concerned, so incredibly concerned for the safety of this man he loved so much. "Stop! You can't take him! STOP IT!" He screamed. "STOP!"

Rose knew she had to end the torture. She grabbed him by his shoulders and shook him hard. He woke up from the nightmare, still crying. "Rose... Where'd he go?"

"He was never there, Doctor, it was a dream. Stay calm okay? You're fine."

"Where," He said coldly, looking into her eyes, "IS HE?!"

"I don't know... It was fake..."

"It couldn't have been fake... I... I felt his touch," He pointed towards his shoulder, "Right here!"

"We're on the TARDIS," She whispered, stroking his cheek gently with one hand and holding his hand with the other.

"I'm so sorry, Rose. I'm so, so, sorry. You believe me don't you?" Tears were streaming down his face. Tears of defeat that Rose rarely saw on his face.

"Stop being sorry! You have nothing to be sorry for, Doctor! It's my fault. I should've woken you up earlier, you just looked so happy..." She trailed off, trying to stay strong for him as repayment for all the times he had stayed strong for her.

"No more Gallifrey... Please..."

She nodded, "We need to get out of here, he could take us again at any moment."

He wiped his tears quickly and set coordinates on the console. He pulled the lever and the ship whooshed. "There's no way he can reach us here," He smiled lightly. Suddenly, Rose fell to the floor grating of the ship and was pulled from reality. "No no no... ROSE!" He screamed.

Her eyes opened again, distant and confused. "Hey, Doctor."

"Oh Rassilon, I thought he had gotten to you."

"What's wrong?" She stared at him.

"I'm fine," He said, confused.

"Really? I... Love you too," She smiled brightly.

"Oh no... Rose, you need to wake up," He muttered.

"Mum? Dad?" She looked behind her happily, "You're all here."

"Rose you really, really should get up," He muttered. She was so happy, with him, her Mum and Dad, and who knows who else was with her. She smiled brightly, illuminating the entire room.

Rose leaned forward and kissed him. He was completely paralyzed for a moment, unfamiliar with her soft lips touching his. He knew he had to end the dream. "Rose..." He whispered, putting his hands on her shoulders. Her face turned troubled, as if trying to detect something that wasn't there.

"Doctor... Oh... Did I?..." She spoke after a moment, embarrassed and unsure.

"Nope," He shook his head, remembering the perfect feeling of her wanting him, needing him. 'It was a fake reality for her,' He thought to himself, 'It means nothing.'

"How did he... Get to us? From here?"

"There must be something implanted in us..." He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and ran it over her. "Aha!"

"What is it?"

"A chip implanted in the back of your head. And mine, I'm guessing."

"Hey, uh, Doctor?" She muttered, ignoring his analysis.

"I can probably remove it if I ju-"

"Doctor," She spoke louder.

"Yes?"

"When we were first taken... Didn't Samuel take our things?"

He thought hard, trying to remember. "Yes, he did."

"Then how did you have your sonic screwdriver on you?"

His eyes widened. They were thinking the same thing. "No... It can't be..."

And with that thought, reality melted away. "Sorry about that," Samuel muttered, "Thought it'd make the tests easier."


	5. Chapter 5

"We didn't escape?!" Rose looked around, completely confused.

"Rassilon, of course my sonic screwdriver was taken... Listen, Samuel, you said there were only a few more tests... Let us go now?" The Doctor's eyes were pleading but his voice was demanding. He had had enough for one day, and he wouldn't let Rose get hurt again.

"Well, here's the thing, I lied," Samuel smiled brightly. If you took away all the evil, Samuel honestly reminded the Doctor of his ninth self.

The Doctor thought long and hard as Samuel began pushing more buttons... If he could just enter Rose's mind, he could pull her out of anything. But he would need to touch her... Just once... How could he touch her? But before that thought went any further, the now familiar gag was stuck in his mouth and Rose's eyes turned frantic and scared. One thing the Doctor knew was that whoever was doing this was smart, smart beyond compare. Because they had found the way to get to him, the way that was worse than any physical torture.

They used memories.

"Where am I?" Rose mumbled, turning her head a little and shuffling her feet a bit as if she was walking around.

The Doctor tried to cry out, but it was of no use. Samuel walked in front of him and out a finger to his own evil smile. He lowered the screen so the Doctor would be able to watch, but the Time-Lord just looked away.

"Hey! Who's there!" Rose shouted a little nervously.

At least she wasn't in pain. Well, not yet.

"No! No get away! No stop! STOP!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

The Doctor gave up all hopes of trying to be confident, trying to be strong, trying to be him; the Oncoming Storm. His eyes pleadingly looked at Samuel, how could anyone be this evil? Rose was perfect in every way, and this man somehow didn't even realize that. He risked a glance at the screen. A large group of every monster they had ever encountered was slowly approaching her. A Dalek, the werewolf, Slitheen, and so much more. No, no, no, how did they know about those things? That wasn't even possible...

The camera looked down along with Rose's eyes. Her legs were melted into the dark floor, she couldn't move at all. So she cried to the one person she had hope in, not knowing she was breaking both his hearts.

"Doctor! Doctor, where are you?!" She shouted, looking around for him. He would be there, he was always there.

The Doctor struggled more than he ever had before, his feet and arms kicking and tugging against the rough bindings. He tried to make noise, any noise possible, but he was _so_ weak. He tried humming, he couldn't with his mouth open. He tapped his feet on the ground, it barely made a sound. So eventually the Time-Lord gave up and watched the screen with tears falling down his face.

Rose was cowering away as the monsters closed in on her. She was trembling violently with sheer terror. But when the werewolf just reached out its claw to touch her, she woke up and looked around the room in confusion. Still not quite understanding what was going on, she stared at the Doctor with his arms and legs tied down and a gag in his mouth and said, "You didn't save me."

The gag was pulled from him but his jaw only dropped open. Was this a torture reality? Rose saying that he couldn't save her? He looked around for anything that wasn't legitimate. No, this was real...

"Samuel," He spoke quietly after a few minutes, "Listen. She's Rose Tyler, she's an innocent human. She's absolutely perfect in every way and hasn't ever done a thing wrong. Ever." His eyes were icy and dark. "I'm the Doctor, I'm a Time-Lord from Gallifrey. I have the blood of hundreds of thousands of different beings on my hands. I'm ancient, over nine-hundred years old. I know secrets that could collapse the galaxy if they were ever spoken. Why do you have _her?_"

"You already know..." Samuel turned away from his machine and walked towards Rose, still smiling. "She's here because of you, Doctor, you're to blame. If he hadn't taken you away, a pretty girl like you might have a nice life," He put his thumb and index finger under her chin with one hand and brushed her hair out of her face with another. She pulled her head away as best as she could.

The Doctor looked broken at hearing the truth. This was his fault. Samuel was actually right, Rose wouldn't be here if the Doctor hadn't taken her away. "This is a fake reality," He mumbled. This was torture, it couldn't be real.

"Oh no, this is real. And I meant it, she'd be happier without you."

"Don't listen to him, Doctor. I don't regret running away with you, ever," Rose stared at him and couldn't even believe he was debating himself right now. "But get us out of here, yeah?"

"Yeah..." He shook his head, throwing off the sad thoughts that he couldn't deal with right now. Looking around the room and examining it carefully, he remembered that his only chance would be to touch Rose and enter her mind. But what would a good excuse be? I, um, need to hug Rose. No, that was no good. Rose's shoes are untied. Nope not good either, they were tied. "Rose has some cuts on her face... How did that happen?" He asked, out of curiosity and the hope that he could touch her if he played his cards right. He knew she had gotten the scratches earlier when they had fake escaped, but Samuel might not have known that.

"The werewolf must of scratched her, didn't pull her out fast enough," Samuel mumbled, not caring.

"A werewolf scratched her?!" The Doctor winked at Rose before Samuel turned around. He was faking his concern flawlessly. "I need to help her! Go back in my memories, Samuel, a werewolf can't scratch her! Look, I'll open that memory up!" Samuel's expression turned into fear as he untied one of the Doctor's hands and allowed him to touch his head. He saw the memory of Rose and the Time-Lord meeting Queen Victoria in Scotland, and the werewolf scratching the queen.

"She'll turn into that?!" Samuel stared at the Doctor in disbelief.

"Yes, if I don't help her, it's easy though, really. Please let me," He begged like a seven year old wanting a lollipop.

"Alright, go over to her, but if I see any funny business I'll put you both in another reality. And it'll be one of my own design."

The Doctor nodded and approached Rose who was still tied up. He put his hands on her temples and focused long and hard, entering her mind.

* * *

Rose was on the TARDIS now, but for some reason she completely remembered Samuel and the room and the bindings. The Doctor was standing there, and this definitely wasnt reality. "Doctor, this isn't real. We're in this room and..."

"I know, we're in your mind, Rose," He smiled brightly.

"But this is the TARDIS," She looked around and stroked the wall of the ship. They were in the console room.

"It's where you find most comfort," The Doctor was unbelievably torn between excitement and warmth at the fact that she thought the TARDIS was the most comforting place in the whole galaxy for her.

"But... I never got scratched by a werewolf, Doctor," She stared at him in confusion.

"Samuel doesn't know that, I needed to touch you so I could enter your mind."

"Why?"

"I think I can prevent you from falling into another reality... Well, I hope," He searched around, but all the doors in the hallway were locked, her memories were in them.

"Alright, how do you do that?"

"I think there's three ways... I could kill you, I could put your mind in comatose, or I can try and build up your defenses," He mumbled, toying with the TARDIS that wouldn't work.

"Well, killing me is out... Right?" She narrowed her eyebrows at the Time-Lord.

"Right. And putting your mind in comatose probably isn't the best idea... Samuel might be able to pull you out of it, and you wouldn't be able to move when I escape or anything... But it is better than nothing..." He walked towards her again.

"No, if you do that, he'll hurt you for doing it. What about building up my defenses?" She looked around, wondering how making defenses was even possible.

"Well, yes, I can definitely do that, but if I do, you would have to be the one to find a way to escape."

"Why?" She noticed him look away from her eyes, avoiding her stare.

"Even my defenses aren't strong enough to fight this, you've seen that... So to build up yours enough, I'd have to give everything I've got to you, for the time being of course. Then you would be strong enough and I'd be pudding," He adjusted his outfit and ran a hand through his hair.

"What if I give you everything I've got?" She asked.

"It's possible but I'd never let you... You'd be too defenseless, might get hurt, can't risk it."

"We have to try," She insisted.

"Rose..." He began, "I've put you through enough danger already... You heard what-"

"What Samuel said? You really believed that? I wouldn't be happier without you! For a Time-Lord you sure are dumb believing what he said. I love you, Doctor." She held each of his hands in hers and looked him solemnly in the eyes, meaning every word.

"Then let's begin."


	6. Chapter 6

"How does this work?" Rose asked him, looking around the fake TARDIS setting.

"It's a thought thing... You just have to really, really think hard about it. But Rose, are you really sure you want to do this? It could hurt..." He swallowed nervously, watching as she walked up to him and shut her eyes tight.

"I'm a hundred percent sure. Just get us out of there, yeah?" Rose said quietly, focusing all her thoughts on giving him her defenses.

She could already feel her mind beggining to weaken. It was a very strange feeling, having your mind drained of all it's powers. Even though humans can't necessarily feel it, Rose discovered that your mind kind of has a strange shield around it. If you remove that shield, you feel a constant vunerability, as if anything touching your head could easily access your thoughts, your memories, and manipulate you. It didn't necessarily sap her intelligence, it just left her dumbstruck, scared, and weak. Quietly, her knees gave out beneath her and the Doctor caught her in his arms.

Her weakness became his strength, and he was ashamed to admit that he liked it. He liked having his mind so much stronger, it made him automatically feel more confident. However, seeing Rose collapse in his arms broke his hearts. This girl, this amazing, incredible human girl, was willing to do so much for him. If only she knew how awful he truly was, the things he had done, the things he had seen. He couldn't seem to tell if she truly understood him or not. Either way, she loved him, and he returned the feeling completely and genuinely.

He loved Rose Marion Tyler, there wasn't a single doubt in his mind about that.

"Okay, it's time to leave now Rose," He whispered to her body, gently rocking her in his arms. Then he focused and exited her mind, bringing them back to reality, where only a few seconds had passed.

* * *

"Will she be okay now?" Samuel asked, seeming actually somewhat concerned. Probably just for his own safety, the Doctor reminded himself.

"Yes, perfect, though she might feel a little weak... I had to remove the virus manually," The Doctor lied, brushing her hair behind her ear.

"Now back to your seat or I'll put you out of reality," Samuel threatened when the Doctor showed no sign of moving back.

"When we were in that fake reality where we escaped..." The Doctor began, picking himself off of the ground and walking towards Samuel. "You had a knife. But you don't really have a knife, do you?"

"Why would I need a knife when I can do... This," Samuel said dramatically, pulling down a lever, expecting the Doctor to collapse. But instead, the Time-Lord just grabbed Samuel's wrists. "How?"

"My mental defenses were... Improved..." The Doctor smiled at Samuel's pure shock and released his wrist.

"You'll still obey me," Samuel's voice was barely above a whisper now as he stared into the eyes of the Oncoming Storm. He couldn't hide his fear anymore. When he had taken this job from the Silence, he had expected it to be easy, and somewhat fun. But right now, this was his own torture.

"Why would I do that?"

Why _would _he do that? Samuel thought to himself quickly. He had to think of something, something to get this situation back under control. It would be so much easier if this bloody Doctor and his stupid companion would just endure these tests then leave quietly. The stupid companion... He glanced over at Rose, and noticed the Doctor's face pale with realization. "Because of her... One pull of this lever," Samuel moved his hand swiftly to another lever and placed it gently on it before the Doctor could react. "And she goes into the worst reality you can imagine. The worst one possible."

"Don't you _dare,_" The Doctor hissed at him, debating what he could do. Rose was unconcious, could she still enter another reality? Was it possible? He didn't want to risk it. If only he knew more about this, if only he had paid more attention when they learned about mental abilities on Gallifrey.

"I'll make a deal with you, get back in the chair, I won't perform any more tests on your little pet."

"Don't you ever, _ever _call her my pet. And you won't keep your deal, why would I trust you?" The Doctor spat at him, eyeing his hand suspiciously, waiting for a moment to pull it away. He could always let Samuel pull the lever and then pull it back, but he wasn't sure how the machinery worked. What if he put her in a permanent stasis of hell?

"Do you have any choice? Besides, Doctor, I'm a man of my word."

The Doctor stared into Samuel's eyes before deciding he had told the truth. He wasn't sure how he knew this, exactly, especially since it was so unbelievable of a man like Samuel to tell the truth. But he raised his hands and backed up into his chair, even putting the restraints around one of his arms. "Do_ not_ hurt her."

Samuel nodded and left the lever, tied up the Doctor, then walked over to Rose. He could practically feel the Doctor's gaze piercing his skin. Cautiously he undid Rose's restraints and lowered her onto the ground. He walked back over to his machinery and ghosted his hand over a button.

"Wait, what does that do?" The Doctor growled, watching Samuel's hand with anger burned onto his face.

"It just puts a field around her, so she can't escape. It won't hurt her," Samuel assured, shocked at the reassurement in his own voice.

He wasn't supposed to be kind to the Doctor, but then again, he wasn't exactly instructed to be mean.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Notes:** Hiya! So I just ran a 5k today and for some reason felt like writing. I really really hope this chapter isn't too confusing, and that you enjoy it! (Sorry for all the sadness ahead of time.)

* * *

"So, give me your worst, Samuel," The Doctor spat at him, disgusted by how awful some humans could be.

"If you insist," He replied, shrugging and typing something on the keyboard with no screen attached to it.

The Doctor braced himself to be thrown into another reality, and was slightly surprised when nothing happened after a few minutes. He opened his eyes and looked over at Samuel, who was gone. Then his eyes flickered over to Rose, who was still laying in the semi-visible force field, with her hand moving a little. "Rose!" He said, fighting his bonds.

"D..." She groaned quickly before quietly moaning in pain.

"Just sleep, Rose, we'll be out of here soon."

* * *

After a few minutes of silence and constant wishing to run over to Rose, Samuel walked back into the room casually. "Word from the bosses."

"Define 'bosses,'" The Time-Lord retorted, giving Samuel his best Oncoming Storm look.

"I need to execute the girl," Samuel muttered, lowering Rose's force field and walking toward her.

If the Doctor wasn't blinded by sudden fury, he would probably have seen the small hint of regret on the human man's face.

_"DON'T TOUCH HER!"_ He fought harder than ever at the chains and felt saliva dripping from his mouth. The Doctor was shocked by the anger he was feeling. In all nine hundred years of his life he had never screamed this loud, with this much passion._ "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER OR I WILL PERSONALLY KILL YOU!"_

Samuel picked up Rose, grimacing at the Doctors's ear piercing yells. "I don't have a choice," He replied simply.

This was probably the weirdest job Samuel had ever taken. Sure, he had tortured people. He had gotten an entire degree in creating dreams. When he was a little kid, he saw the movie Inception. As dumb as that sounded, it honestly inspired him to take the job, thinking it'd be fun.

However, seeing how much the Doctor cared for Rose truly did touch his heart. How bad could this man possibly be? The Silence, his employers, honestly hadn't told him much. Mostly just that this man was going to destroy the universe or something. But Samuel thought it was much more likely he'd destroy the universe if Rose died. As much as he had argued with the Silence about killing Rose, they insisted the Doctor would die on his own without a companion. For once, Samuel agreed with them.

"You always have a choice... Please, you absolutely have to listen to me... You can stop this here and now. Don't you have someone you..." The Doctor's voice trailed off as he held back his tears.

Samuel froze. Clover. The first and last girl he had loved. Right before he went to school to learn how to make dreams, he had told her the three words. She returned it, but didn't want a long distance relationship. No. He couldn't let this man's words get to him. "Someone you what?" He said, colder than he had meant.

"Love. Someone you love," The Doctor swallowed nervously, his eyes fixed completely on Rose's limp body.

"Not anymore," Samuel whispered, then scolded himself. He wasn't supposed to be having this conversation!

"Please just... Kill me instead. Just, do something. Think of the woman or man you loved. What was their name?"

* * *

A young man and a young woman sat next to each other. They were in a circular grassy field, completely surrounded by trees. The flowers scattered across the field were yellow and purple, along with a few white. The sky was a brilliant, beautiful orange with the sun just beginning to rise.

The woman was in her early twenties, with dark black hair in a ponytail, a light blue lacy dress with a belt around her waist. She also had green eyes contently staring at the sun, not caring about the stunning light.

The man was around the same age, a bit older, with trimmed blonde hair and a thin, lean body. He wore a plain black shirt with jeans, and wasn't wearing any shoes along with the girl. Smiling, he grabbed her hand and stared at the sun with her.

"Samuel," She said, squeezing his hand but not looking at him. "Happy anniversary."

His grin grew wider and he let go of her hand to reach into the basket to his right. He pulled out a big kite, and handed it to her. She had a look of amazement on her face.

"I repaired it," He said.

"The same one?"

"The same one."

* * *

"Clover."

"Yeah? Describe Clover to me, tell me about her," The Doctor said lightly, paying close attention to the sad expression on Samuel's face.

"She... Short, black hair and green eyes... The greenest eyes," Samuel shut his eyes and pictured her face carefully. "So beautiful."

"No, describe her to me, what did she like to do? How'd you meet her?" The Time-Lord insisted.

"Flying kites she... Loved kites, so much, they were her favorite thing... I met her at the park... Her kite broke. After she left the park I kept the broken kite and fixed it. So, so beautiful," He repeated, containing his emotions.

"Now, imagine if you were me, and Clover was in someone's arms about to be killed. And you couldn't do a thing to stop it." The Doctor knew this was a low card to play, but it was absolutely necessary, he couldn't let Rose get hurt.

Samuel's eyes widened at this, and a very small breathe of relief fell from the Doctor's lips un-voluntarily. "Alright, I'll help you."


	8. Chapter 8

Samuel reluctantly released the Doctor from his chair and quickly shut off the camera that was recording everything in the room. The Doctor instantly ran over to Rose and hit his fists on the force-field until it was lowered, when he picked up Rose's limp body and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "We'll be okay, Rose," The Doctor whispered to her, smiling at the fact that she seemed overall unharmed, just tired.

"They'll kill me, you know," Samuel said to the Doctor, pressing more strange switches on his machine.

"You can come with us... But listen, Samuel, that machine..." The Time-Lord began, getting a crazy idea that was almost impossible. Key word: Almost.

"My machine? What about it?"

"How many people can it affect at once?"

* * *

Julian Turantez was in a field of thousands of lillies and roses, dancing about with his many other co-workers who worked for the Silence. Obviously, something was wrong, they had been on duty five minutes ago, but they were all too absorbed in this little world to notice a thing. They had been happily flitting about for several long hours before Julian looked up and noticed the sky was a strange black color, even though the sun was shining. He said something to his friend Terrance, and with those words, the world fell apart beneath their feet.

"What just happened?" Julian grasped his head, getting a handful of long black hair.

"That was a dream. Someone's escaped, or playing a rude prank," Terrance replied, already ordering the guards with the hand motions they had all learned so very well when preparing for this job.

"Think it's the Doctor?"

"I know it's the Doctor."

* * *

Samuel, Rose, and the Doctor sprinted down the hallway, trying to ignore the blaring alarm that lit up in their faces in every hall. Samuel manuvered the hallways like a pro, knowing where to turn left, right, or keep going straight. If they didn't have this man with him, Rose and the Doctor would never have been able to escape. The place was not unlike a labyrinth, with doors everywhere and shadows of guards lurking. It wasn't an easy task keeping your feet silent and still moving quickly, especially while holding an unconscious girl.

The Doctor's mind fizzed with all the extra energy it had gotten from Rose's, and left him much perkier and happier than he had been before. Which, of course, shouldn't be right at all, in fact he should be depressed and filled with anxiety. It disgusted him how much joy he had from abusing all her energy.

"How close are we?" The Doctor whispered after they had been running for about ten minutes.

"Almost there, but there will be a few guards at the exit," Samuel muttered back, pulling a gun out of the holster on his pants and smiling at the Doctor.

"I'm not a big fan of guns," The Time-Lord whispered back, eyes filled with concern.

"It's just a stun-gun, no worries."

* * *

After they had knocked out three guards and escaped the building, (setting off another six alarms) it was the Doctor's turn to lead the way. He sprinted towards the humming of the TARDIS that was guiding him, and handed Rose cautiously to Samuel so he could unlock the doors to the police box. The guards from the facility were close behind them, and Samuel mumbled words of rude encouragement to the Doctor. Finally, the Doctor opened the doors and they all rushed inside, slamming them shut behind them.

The Doctor noticed Samuel's shocked face at the inside of his ship and immediately took Rose from his arms. "Woah... It's... Bigger on the inside."

"Didn't you already know that? Knowing so much about me and Rose and all," The Doctor replied, still not completely have forgiven Samuel, as much as he tried. After all, the man had just saved Rose's life. Oh, and his.

"Yes but, seeing it... Clover would love this," Samuel smiled brightly, ducking his head around every alley of the ship, exploring.

"Want the grand tour? I warn you, it takes a while, the TARDIS is infinite."

"Sure!" Samuel said excitedly.

"Alright, but first, let me get Rose somewhere safe."

Rose was laid down on her bed and tucked in nice and soft. Too embarrassed to change her out of her normal clothes, she was still wearing them, but luckily she still looked comfortable. The Doctor was a little reluctant to leave her, even if he did love giving the tour of the TARDIS, because he wanted to be there when she woke up.

Surprisingly, after he had finished showing Samuel the kitchen, swimming pool, library, boxing room, zoo, mountain-climbing room, and a few other important rooms, Rose was still asleep. The second he sat down at her bedside, brushing her blonde hair out of her face, she stirred. "Doctor?" She mumbled, her eyes still shut but her face calm.

"Hello," He said happily, not pulling his hand away. Rose was okay. She was okay, and he had gotten her out. Thank Rassilon for that.

"Hello," She replied sleepily, putting her hand on top of his that was on her face.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," Rose sat up and held both his hands in hers now. "Listen, though, Doctor, we need to talk."

The Doctor's face paled immediately beyond his will. She was going to ask to leave, wasn't she? She'd leave him all alone on the TARDIS, stuck with Samuel for the rest of his life. No more Rose Tyler on the TARDIS. Problem was, it would probably be best for her. Even if he ju-

"I'm not going to ask to leave," Rose read his mind and raised an eyebrow, laughing when the color came back to his face. "It's just, back there... In that facility. We kind of saw some disturbing stuff... About each other."

The Doctor nodded slightly, not exactly sure where she was heading with this. He definitely hadn't seen anything disturbing about her, he already had the faint idea that one of her fantasies would be a humany life with him. That was one of his, too, of course.

Rose was silent for so long the Doctor thought she was done talking, until tears welled up in her eyes and she spoke again. "And... I love you."

And with those words, reality melted away.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Okay! Just to clarify! That was the ending! Yes, I know, it's very evil. Heh. But you can look at it a few different ways. I'll leave you to debate with yourself what those ways are. Anyways, I may make a sequel (or possibly an epilogue of some sort?) to this some day, but I highly doubt it. I'd also like to make a shout-out to Sunsetsoccer who, for one is awesome, and secondly loves this story. You're awesome.


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